An Oriental Opulence

30 JULY 2017

by Eunice

Known to the Malaysia culture, a traditional Chinese wedding is one colourful affair rich in heritage. Even till present day, where many couples still uphold and practice this tradition. Generally, it first encapsulates a bride-fetching session, where the groom goes through a series of ‘obstacles’ to fetch his prized goal, the bride. In today’s urban society, modern twist have been brought in and the bridesmaids get the privilege to come up with a million and one crazy but fun games and tasks for the lads to perform before being able to get to the beautiful bride.

Once the bride-fetching has been done, the morning ceremony then moves on to the most important part of it all; the tea ceremony. A Chinese custom where the newlyweds kneel down before their parents and families, indicating in which members of both families become relatives of each other. It is a symbol of respect and gratitude to the elderly who have shown much love and care throughout the years of growing up. Tea on its own, symbolizes a few significant meanings to it, with stability, purity and fertility being amongst the most important traits. The stability of the tea represents faithful love; the purity of the tea signifies love that is pure and noble; and lastly the fertility of the tea leaves represents the continuity and abundance in offspring.

Being able to be a part of Eugene and Jo-anne’s tea ceremony was definitely a blessing, having witnessed the love and bond between their family and amazing bunch of friends as well.

The classic red flanked with dainty blue Chinoiserie elements best defines the pre-conceived notion of ‘oriental’ than the epitome of a traditional combination.And that was exactly what Eugene and Jo-anne went for, being a couple with great taste and an eye for aesthetics. But that wasn’t just it. They wanted to bring in a little twist to the bland ordinary and being inspired by their background as both pharmacists, we took up the challenge to bring ‘oriental’ to a whole new level with a concept of a Chinese Medicinal Hall, otherwise known as ‘Yao Cai Dian’ (药材店) in Mandarin.

With an old-school custom-build wooden shelving as the main feature, the mocha-coloured planks were decked with jars of assorted Chinese herbs and a distressed wooden table propped up in the front, lined with a vintage weighing scale, a classic must-have abacus, an overflowing rattan of snow white fungus with bits and pieces of rustic things here, there and everywhere.

The cornucopia of nibbles was definitely a jaw-dropper that beckoned throngs of guests, eagerly picking out their favourites whilst reminiscing their childhood with each bite. The 12 feet spread featured tit-bits from the past like preserved plum candies, white rabbit sweets, peanut brittles, hot pepper cookies, haw flakes and ‘Mo Fa Go’, served alongside an eye-candy of precious antique treasures and vintage collectibles.

It was a really brilliant way of incorporating a personal touch of themselves into a meaningful occasion as such and it was such a crowd winner, besides elevating ‘oriental’ to an entirely different and unique perspective like no other.